UI & UX

> Product Management

The New Rules of Form Design. Every day, we use forms for essential online activity.

We fill them out to complete purchases; to sign up for email lists, social networks, and more; to participate in discussions; and to describe that oh-so-delicious looking photo of our lunch. It’s hardly hyperbole to say they’re the lifeblood of digital information sharing. For many years, however, with few improvements to be found, forms have been mired in working “well enough” but not exactly well. Now, modern techniques—when used correctly—allow designers to produce faster, easier, and more productive form experiences.
10 principles for smooth web animations.

There are dozens of ways to achieve animations on the web.

For example, the filmstrip is an approach has been around since before the internet, with slightly different hand-drawn frame being swapped out many times a second to create the illusion of motion. Twitter recently used this simple approach for their new heart animation, flipping through a sprite of frames. This effect could’ve been done with a ton of tiny elements individually animating, or perhaps as an SVG, but that would be unnecessarily complex and probably not be as smooth.

UI/UX tools. Web Cursor: The Forgotten Property. There are many aspects of CSS that we regularly talk about such as positioning, color, media queries, and typography.

Yet one part of a humble CSS specification rarely gets a mention and it plays a huge part in the way we interact with sites.
Make Those Web Apps Run Fast! (Or At Least Fake It) - ReadWriteS. Back in February at the Future of Web Apps (FOWA) conference in Miami, Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson presented on his 10 Golden Principles of Successful Web Apps.

UI research – speed matters and 10s+ page load is a killer. Earlier this week usability expert Jakob Nielsen (famous for his eyetracker studies) published the results of some research into the importance of page response times to user experience and perceptions of brand.

In his words “users really care about speed”.
Why most UX is shite. Designing Screens Using Cores and Paths. Imagine you’re on one side of a grass lawn and you want to reach the bus stop on the opposite side.

Do you walk on the sidewalk around the edges or cross in the middle? Assuming the grass is dry and it’s not prohibited, you’d probably take the shortest path and walk across the lawn to the bus stop. If others have done so before, you may see a beaten path that you could follow.
What are some top strategies for conversion optimization.

Your Facebook Account has Three Passwords. Brand as Context in Interaction Design. I’m sure I was swearing allegiance to one brand over another as soon as I began to develop the capacity for critical thought.

Reebok vs. Nike, Coke vs. Pepsi, SEGA vs. Nintendo, Apple vs. Microsoft—these warring companies were more than just brands to me, they were almost systems of belief. Because people assign meaning to brands, brands stand for something; they have both value and a set of values. While there are tremendous differences in how people react to these brand names—based on countless cultural and social parameters—whether consumers view them in a positive or negative light, they likely find it hard to remain neutral. Even though brand and product design teams typically approach their work as distinct teams with different measurements for success, it is essential to work across organizational silos and ensure each team is aware of how to complement the other.

Corporation Out. Why Rounded Corners are Easier on the Eyes. By anthony on 08/17/11 at 10:17 pm.

5 Essential Product Design Books That Aren’t About Product Design. By Hunter Walk On January 25, 2012 “What are some good books about product management?”

Is a frequent question for designers and engineers, especially those who are first-time founders. While there are any number of volumes you can peruse about agile development, team building, roadmaps or whatever skill you want to acquire, the art of product design is more elusive. If you’re really going for 9th level blackbelt Caine kung-fu, you need to head off the beaten path and find not tips, tricks and tactics, but inspiration and anthropology. Absorb truths about science and people to identify needs based on the human condition, not a market analysis.
Functionnal design. 9 Useful Techniques for User-Friendly Tables. By anthony on 07/11/11 at 12:33 pm Tables are great for displaying information.

But making them user-friendly is a challenge. One reason it’s challenging is because the table grid limits the amount of information you can display in a table cell.
When to Use White Text on a Dark Background. By anthony on 04/28/11 at 11:11 am Many websites use black text on a light background to display their content because it’s easy to read. However, using white text on a dark background also has its advantages.
Why Users Fill Out Forms Faster with Top Aligned Labels. 12 Useful Techniques For Good User Interface Design - Smashing Magazine. Advertisement Last week, we presented 10 Useful Web Application Interface Techniques471, the first part of our review of useful design trends in modern Web applications.

Principles

Design. Mobile. 10 UI Ideas to Learn from Gumroad)
10 UI Ideas to Learn from Gumroad Gumroad is an exciting new startup that lets anyone sell digital content with just a link. It was founded by the prolific Sahil Lavingia. Sahil has designed a number of useful apps, ranging from Pinterest in the early days, to Turntable, to Crate, to Caltrainer, etc.